Euphoria & Epiphany
by l3thr33
Summary: the past doesn't go away just by moving to a different city. everything seems to be going so well when the nightmares start again and she soon realizes she's in a world she thought she left.
1. Chapter 1

"Twenty, forty, sixty, eighty, five hundred," Kagome counted off the last of the twenty dollar bills she had in her bag and placed it neatly in the last of the moving helpers hand. "Thanks guys! Don't spend it all in one place!" she exclaimed as she shut the door and they strolled out of her brand new high rise apartment and out of her life.

She opened the curtains in her living room revealing wall length windows with a breath taking ocean view. She had always wanted to live near a body of water, if not for the view but the tranquility. Her last apartment consisted of sirens at one in the morning and drug dealers patrolling almost every alleyway, not to mention her roommate at the time was almost as happy as she was to watch her leave.

Opening the window and inhaling the ocean breeze she could smell a hint of rain and that dampened her spirits. She was looking forward to having a few friends over for drinks but nobody would want to come out in this weather. She wasn't a party person anyways. A glass of red wine and a good book would be enough to tide her over for her first night alone.

She walked from her living room into the spare bedroom that she had turned into her office and sat down at her computer. She had promised her mother she would Skype her as soon as she had settled. No place never felt officially like home unless her mother congratulated her on a job well done.

WWKAGS: "Hi mom!"

HIRIKO77: "Hey sweetie. Are you all moved in and comfortable?"

WWKAGS: "Haven't unpacked anything yet but I think I'll wait until tomorrow."

SANGOHATESPERVERTS just signed in.

WWKAGS: "Hey mom? I'm gonna have to call you back later. Sango just signed in and I want to ask her if she would like to come over tonight."

HIRIKO77: "Alright dear, have fun and be safe! Hugs and kisses!"

WWKAGS: "Don't worry. :)"

Kagome ended the call with her mother and waited a few minutes until Sango messaged her before starting up a conversation. Sometimes Sango's brother liked to sign into her computer and use her internet without asking. One mistake of giving out way too much information about a one night stand ended up having the poor boy scarred for life.

SANGOHATESPERVERTS: "Hey K, having fun yet?"

WWKAGS: "You know it. Just called my mom to let her know I'm okay and now I'm free for the night. What are you up to?"

SANGOHATESPERVERTS: "Just finished cooking dinner. Simple but easy Ramen. Yummy."

WWKAGS: "Sounds good. Have you heard anything about Kouga lately?"

SANGOHATESPERVERTS: "Your ex-boyfriend? Not really. He's probably out screwing someone new, and hopefully getting some good STD's."

WWKAGS: "Hopefully. I just want to stay as far away from him as possible. Last time I saw the guy he punched a hole in my wall. Which I didn't get my damage deposit back on the last place because of him."

SANGOHATESPERVERTS: "Ouch. It wasn't worth it anyway. That place was scum city, and Kikyo didn't make it any better."

WWKAGS: "I still kinda liked the loft feel of it though. Definatly not going to miss the water stains and blood marks in the linoleum."

SANGOHATESPERVERTS: "Hah, true. Hey, do you remember that Miroku guy at our work? He asked me out on a date the other night."

WWKAGS: "He what? Oh my god! Did you say yes?"

SANGOHATESPERVERTS: "Not yet, I said I would think about it. I don't know if he's the type of guy I would trust in a dark theater. It doesn't take much for hands to wander with him."

WWKAGS: "Oh you need a little adventure. You never get out of your hide a hole anyways."

SANGOHATESPERVERTS: "Watch it girl or you'll be eating your teeth for breakfast. LOL."

WWKAGS: "Double doggie dare you (wink), I'm going to go order some pizza and curl up on my sofa. TTYL?"

SANGOHATESPERVERTS: "Promise. Have a good night. Don't get too scared of the dark. :)"

Kagome quit out of Skype and set her computer to sleep mode. She would probably want to start on her work assignment later tonight after dinner.

As she entered her kitchen she almost tripped over one of the huge boxes barring the entrance. Clumsy was always one of her good traits. She regained her posture and looked in the fridge for some sort of beverage and found none, which was to be expected since she only just moved in.

Her kitchen was her most favorite place to be in her house. The cupboards were a mahogany brown color mixed with beige and dark marble counters as well as the wall was a matching shade of beige. Her dining set matched the colors as well and was set in the middle of the kitchen facing the living room.

Her mother taught her to cook at a young age and she experimented with different ingredients which she fed to her family in hopes of not poisoning them each and every time she laid her hands on a frying pan. Eggs Benedict was her favorite but it was too late to cook eggs, especially for dinner.

Kagome decided against cooking and called for Thai delivery instead. After the food was delivered, by a very attractive delivery driver none-the-less, she grabbed a fleece blanket from her living room and curled up on one of her couches and turned on the TV.

The channel was automatically set to the local news and the weatherman was lying to the public again about how it was going to be sunny with a chance of rain tomorrow when everybody knew it was going to rain most of the day. It always does when it rains the night before.

The news reporter interrupted the weather broadcaster for an announcement on the third female who has mysteriously disappeared in the past two weeks. It was indeed something to be careful about but not serious enough to keep Kagome interested in the whole story. It happened all the time all over the world anyway and she had high doubts it would happen to her, so she changed the channel to Scrubs and fell asleep almost halfway through the most recent episode.

First night at the new home, a success.


	2. Chapter 2

Kagome woke the next day to the ocean breeze blowing against her face and birds chirping somewhere off in the distance. She sat upright from her resting position and her arms reached over her head, hands clasped together in a back-arching stretch.

She looked over at the clock and seen it was early in the afternoon. She didn't mean to sleep in that late but was also glad it was her day off, it gave her a chance to get some unpacking done.

As soon as she fed herself and cleaned up enough to be presentable to society she started unpacking most of her bedroom. Her books were the first thing to be taken out of their cardboard prison and shelved on her brand new bookshelf stationed at the end of her bed against the wall.

Different authors, all of different kinds of literature: poetry, mystery, suspense, crime, and even romance. Of all things, she wished her life was written on a page with a future. She sighed as she shelved the last of the books and stored the empty cardboard in the laundry room until she could get rid of it some other way.

By the time the day was done she had unpacked most of her kitchen and her bathroom. It felt more like an actual home than just a place to live.

Her interview with the new Lilac Corporation was tomorrow and she didn't want to be late especially when it meant a chance to be an employee at her most favorite job. She loved to write ever since she could handle a pen and a piece of paper. More than that she liked to sing but only one future was a possibility.

She threw a load of laundry into the washer and let a cycle run before changing it into the dryer and letting it sit there overnight. She would fold her clothes and iron her good interview clothes in the morning so she looked professional enough for a position with the fastest growing company in the world.

She pulled back the covers of her bed and threw the pillows to the ground as she undressed down to her underwear and crawled into bed. She grabbed her laptop from her side table and opened it up to reveal her last text document.

She stared at her screen for a few moments before reading the first line over and over in her head.

_'He hit me'._

Her hand subconsciously flew to her cheek as she remembered back to the time Kouga first laid his hands on her, and the last. He was rough with everything, even love. He hit her the first time when she talked back to him. She knew that he had been cheating with many different women but never confronted him about it because she thought that she loved him.

It became habit that he shoved her around like she was his plaything to be used. He would say sweet nothings then his dark side would appear after one too many drinks and she would become the annual punching bag.

After she left him she had to move, change her number, change how she looked, and change everything about her that made her who she is. She took up self defense classes so that if she had to she could protect herself from everything he could use against her. It was hard at first exposing herself emotionally like that but after a while you just learn to shut everything else off.

She closed her laptop and blocked out the memories. She could feel the faint sting of tears at the corners of her eyes but refused to let them fall. She didn't love him anymore but the memories still sting like a freshly opened wound.

She pulled the covers over her body, and settled down to slumber, hoping dreams wouldn't bring another nightmare.

_'You know you're nothing like the others' Kouga said as he brushed a strand of her blonde hair behind her ear._

_ Her chocolate brown eyes looked deeply into his, exploring for sincerity, honesty, and love. Blue as the ocean but just as much rage, ferocity, and passion as a tidal wave. She was mesmerized from the first moment._

_ 'How can you tell a river from an ocean when it all flows the same?' She implored, wondering what he meant that made her so different from the other pretty women he could have so easily._

_He laughed at her boldness but it wasn't because of her boldness the way he looked at her. She felt like she was naked for him to undress with his eyes. Just another piece of meat to be had and tossed away, but she was so ready, so willing to be loved by anyone who would that she gave in to the desire and let it control her._

_ The sound the contact made when his fist connected with her face sent her spiraling back against the wall and slumped down to the floor half-conscious. Her hair clung to her face and around her shoulders, hiding her eyes from view._

_ 'You know your place is beneath me.' is what he said as he grabbed her by her arms. She reached out and with her manicured nails left three long scratches in both cheeks hard enough to bleed but not hard enough to scar. It only made him more angry._

_ She struggled against him but he easily overpowered her. He pinned her arms so she couldn't move but she had her legs. She kicked at his shins and stomped on his feet but it only made him more enraged._

_ He turned her around while keeping her pinned and shoved her down to the ground. He let go of her arms and she tried to crawl away, cry for help but no one could hear her. He pulled her back and ripped off her skirt she was wearing._

_ She knew what was going to happen and it was what she feared the most. She needed to get away but he had her trapped like a rabbit in a cage, and he was going to do the unthinkable._

_ He pushed into her and she screamed louder than she would in her whole life. It hurt, worse than dying. _

_ He made it so it would hurt._


	3. Chapter 3

She bolted upright in bed mid-scream from the nightmare and clasped her hands over her mouth not wanting to wake the neighbors. It was another nightmare, the same one she has had repeatedly since she left him.

A shudder crept its way up her spine and she tried to shrug it off but couldn't lie that it had affected her more than she would have liked. The sheets were drenched with her sweat and the covers had been kicked off by her mental struggle turned ugly.

She signed and ran her hands over her face, rubbing her eyes so she would be more awake. Glancing over at her nightstand and the alarm clock that sat glowing neon lights at her she noticed it was only an hour since her head had hit her pillow and she knew she wasn't going to be going back to sleep any time soon.

She forced herself to crawl out of bed and to her bathroom off of her bedroom. She looked at herself in the mirror and she looked like Frankensteins monster. It wasn't just a nightmare it was a reenactment.

She looked away and crawled into the shower turning on the hot and cold so a warm temperature flowed over her body washing the fear and the worry away until all there was left was the water pouring down the drain.

She towel dried her hair and wrapped a towel around her body when she was finished and walked into her kitchen to make herself a tea with lots and lots of sugar. She put a kettle on and while she waited read the newspaper from the other day sitting on her table.

The front page was of the same story of girls who have mysteriously disappeared. Mostly women who wouldn't be missed or small children all from the ages of fifteen to twenty nine.

One picture of a girl stood out to her; she had bright red hair tied up in pigtails with flowers adorning her hair, her bright blue eyes seemed to carry much hurt and yet much joy but also seemed to be crying out for help, like she knew what was going to happen and she couldn't stop it.

Kagome read that the police activity for the situation has been limited because it hasn't become a serious enough issue. Since when does a mother crying in the streets for her lost, or possibly dead daughter not count as a serious enough issue?

It made Kagome sick to her stomach and the kettle on the stove was steaming so she closed the paper and poured the boiling water into a mug with an Orange Pekoe tea bag. She walked into her living room and sat down on her couch enjoying the warming sensation of her drink.

Moonbeams were coming through her slightly drawn curtains illuminating certain spots on the ground and through the barely cracked window she could hear the remains of a wolf's howl. She sometimes wondered what it would be like to be a bird and be able to fly away to anywhere at all, or a wolf running wild and free, not listening to reason and no obligations.

Her interview was less than eight hours away and there was nothing to do. Stores were closed, her friends were sleeping, and she wasn't interested in sitting on her computer for the next seven hours. She sighed and turned on the television hoping there was a good show on that would keep her mind at bay from the demons lurking in the dark.

By the time she woke up it was quarter to seven and her interview was at eight sharp. She still had enough time to get ready and look presentable but her muscles were telling her how much they hated her for sleeping on the couch.

She dragged herself to the bathroom for another shower and to put on her make-up which is always a job and a half. She hated mascara and the way it felt but it looked good on her so she sucked it up and prettified her long lashes. Next was the small amount of smokey eyeshadow on each eye and black liquid eyeliner.

By the time she was done her make-up and had on a nice black business skirt that accentuated her curves and a white blouse it was quarter to eight.

"Shit, shit, shit! I'm going to be late!" She panicked as she grabbed her keys and bolted out her front door, making extra careful, like always, to lock it behind her. It was going to be one long day.

She almost tripped over herself in the stairwell leading down to the parkade but managed to avoid any injuries. It was still early morning and some people were still sleeping or getting ready for work.

Dawn was just beginning to show it's face over the mountains and setting a nice golden hue on the town. It shone off of glass building creating a glare that without sunglasses you wouldn't be able to drive.

She reached her jeep in record time, threw her purse into the backseat, and shoved the key into the ignition. It wasn't the most reliable vehicle to start on the first try but she was blessed today as it started with a loud roar of the engine and slowed to a putt. Of all cars she could have picked she chose a Jeep. She had always wanted a Jeep Cherokee for either off-roading or to feel the wind on her face whenever she wanted. It did suck when it rained because she would have to put the top up and that took half an hour if it wanted to be stubborn.

She pulled out of the underground parkade and made her way down the empty street to the Lilac Building which was smack dab middle of downtown.

By the time she got to downtown she still had a couple minutes before the meeting and they had a Starbucks in the lounge so she decided she would grab herself a quick Latte. She scrounged around in her purse for a five dollar bill she knew was hiding in the bottom somewhere and ordered her drink. As she turned to stand in the waiting line for her coffee she ran square into a man carrying a very hot cup of joe. It splashed mostly onto her white blouse and drenched her right through to the beige bra everyone could see.

She looked at the man horrified and had the urge to scream and yell at him for ruining her almost perfect day. Instead she crossed her arms over her chest trying to hide the mess and keep some of her dignity and mumbled out an apology through her embarrassment.

The man was just as shocked and seemed disappointed like he had just lost his best friend of the morning. He quickly apologized as well and took off his black suit jacket and covered her so she could go to the bathroom to get cleaned up.

After she cleaned up as much as she could and the man had brought her an extra blouse that one of the secretary's had in the back she exited the bathroom to find the man sitting waiting for her.

"I'm so sorry about your coffee. I can pay for another one if you would like." Kagome sounded more flustered than a deer in the headlights and he just chuckled.

"It's okay. I can brew one for myself upstairs, it's tastier that way and a heck of a lot cheaper." He said standing up and reaching out to shake her hand, "I'm Hojo and I'm assuming you're Kagome."

Her eyes widened in shock that he knew her name and a thousand paranoid questions ran through her head.

"How do you know my name?" She inquired.

"You're here to have an interview with my boss and i made you late so I'll take you up to meet him now and explain the whole situation." He said and led her towards the glass elevator, "He practically lives here at the office, but i can't blame him with all the work he has to do."

"What kind of work?" She asked, curious about the future of the company and the kind of man she was about to meet was.

"Well, other company's are always on our tail about mergers, trying to get share in our stocks, and the press is harassing him about his latest divorce from wife and co-founder Kagura." He said rolling his eyes at the very mention of her name. Kagome assumed she wasn't a very easy woman to get along with.

Hojo punched the button to call the elevator and it was only on the second floor so it didn't take very long for them to enter through the doors and for him to punch the number forty seven button. It was a very tall building with a lot of very important people.

At that point she was starting to feel more and more nervous of being in the same building of people with so much more experience and higher status than her. She was merely an ant compared to them and she was surprised her own feet didn't start walking out before she entered the elevator.

Hojo somehow sensed her uneasyness and suggested ways to impress the man up top; such as "Don't mention his ex-wife, don't pretend you don't have a brain in your head, and don't sell yourself short. He likes confidence."

By the time they reached the forty seventh floor she was a stone statue and Hojo had to shove her out of the elevator. The secretary looked at her funny and Hojo just smiled as the doors shut behind her with a last "Good luck." farewell.

She walked up to the secretary and the woman looked at her expecting her to say something.

"Name please?" As the woman typed away at her computer still looking at Kagome and she could almost feel the back of her head starting to burn.

"Kagome Higurashi. I'm here for an interview." She said feeling dumb she didn't say her name a little more proffesionally.

"Through those doors, take a left, and knock twice on the double oak doors." She says and points at the door to the right of her desk. Kagome nodded a thank you and hurried through the doors anxious for that woman to stop staring at her like she was competition.

She came to a room with a water cooler, a couple of leather sofas, and a small kitchen in the corner for making coffee and/or meals if the person so desired to.

She took a left like the woman said and came to the dark double oak doors where the man of so much power he could throw her out the window and get away scott free. She straightened her blouse and skirt, making sure there were no coffee stains left and she didn't look out of place, and then she knocked on the door and her heart almost stopped.


	4. Chapter 4

He had long wavy black hair that was tied back in a long ponytail around the nape of his neck. It made him look proffesional instead of a serial killer. She was nervous when she knocked on his door, now she just felt petrified.

By the look in his eyes the way he looked at her she could tell he expected something more. She didn't have the fire the others had when it came to people in power. She could be very stubborn and very agressive when the situation called for it, but the deer in the headlights look was a nice way of putting it the way she looked now.

"Have a seat ." He beckoned her to sit in one of his, quite possibly 30,000 dollar, chairs.

She did what she was told, not knowing what else to do or say. Following orders seemed like the best solution for now.

He picked up the papers in front of him, and tapped them on his desk, straightening the papers and put them back down on his desk.

"I am to understand you don't have much experience when it comes to micro managing." He said looking her right in the eye.

She mentally kicked herself knowing that there was no hiding her weaknesses from him so why did she bother trying? She mustered up the last of the confidence she had and gave it her all.

"I make up for it with my perfectionist traits, which could also be one of my weaknesses as well, and my organization skills." She said straightening her back and crossing her legs.

He looked at her for a minute after she said that and she felt like he was challenging her to say more.

"Anything else?"

Kagome sighed inwardly and decided to take a different approach.

"I know you don't have a lot of time and what time you do have is valuable beyond measure, so i'm not going to sit here like an ugly duckling trying to explain my good and horrible qualities to you." She said and noticed the look in his eyes changing from boredom to either shock or impressment.

"I have done reaserch on you're company and i know that it did start in the late 50's by your father in which you inherited at the age of twenty years old. I know that you must have felt the same that i did walking into this building today.

You have been compared against a man who made his life out of nothing and became the most world renowned successful man of the nineteenth century. I have been compared against not as high standards but high none-the-less.

So although i may be wasting your time here today sir, i would really like to show you that i am not at the bottom of the pile of blue collar workers and i have much more to offer than a simple secretary."

The speech felt overdone, like she was giving him a lecture or something. Although his face was nothing less than utter bewilderment.

She gave it all she had and she knew that she was either going to be thrown out if she didn't get up and leave on her own so she gathered her purse up off of the ground, gave him a formal bow, and apologized for her rudeness and for wasting his time before leaving through the double doors.

The secretary was also looking at her stunned by the time she got to the elevator and she looked back at the woman with the same glare she gave her earlier, except she was no longer competition, she was the better person.

It wasn't long before the same man she just had an interview with came running out of his office and around the corner to catch Kagome before she entered the elevator.

This time it was her turned to be paralyzed in shock because when he caught up with her he didn't only give her a handshake, he gave her a hug.

"That was the most brilliantly honest interview i've given in a very long time." He said and kept shaking her hand until she felt it was going to fall off.

He led her away from the elevator back to the secretarys desk and dropped her hand only to talk to the woman sitting there.

"Kayla can you please put down for three o' clock wednesday afternoon?" He asked and the woman complied almost immeadiatly in fear of what he would do if she didn't.

He then led her to the break room just inside the doors she just left and ordered her to sit down on one of the couches there while he fetched her a can of soda water and a coffee for himself.

By the time they were both comfortable, for him at least, he started telling her about the aspects of a secretary and editor for the companys newspaper.

It took a while but finally Kagome relaxed and started telling him about her familys history with stock marketing and what they lost in the wall street crash of 1929.

He told her all she should expect and what she should ask from her peers on her training day on the upcoming wednesday of that week.

As he led her back to the elevator, Kagome felt more comfortable walking back as she did walking in.

"I don't know how to thank you enough ." Kagome stepped into the elevator and her smile beamed back at the man, happier than she had been in a very long time.

"Just call me Naraku." He replied and she couldn't help but feel something was behind his smile. A sinister recognition that stirred slight fear beneath her skin but she shrugged it off as nerves and decended in the elevator.

Meanwhile Naraku turned on his heel and scurried back into his office, eager to await the new recruits abilities.

"In due time."


End file.
